Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Playoffs??? What Do You Mean Playoffs???

The MLB playoffs kick off today, unfortunately without the Tigers who had a kick to the nether regions of their own to deal with last night. So with the Tigers out, the question is who do you root for (provided you can stomach a Tigerless playoff)? So here's cases for and against all 8 teams.

Minnesota TwinsHate them for: Nick Punto, the damn Metrodome, and that fact that they just won't dieRoot for: AL Central loyalty, their fans are pretty cool, the underdog factor

New York YankeesHate them for: They're the Yankees, do I really need to list things?Root for: Revenge for the Twins beating the Tigers I guess...uh...Derek Jeter's from Michigan, right?

Boston Red SoxHate them for: Being the only group of fans more obnoxious than Yankee fans, Kevin Youkilis, months of smug Bill Simmons columns if they winRoot for: Fenway Park to collapse. There is nothing redeemable about this team

Los Angeles Angels of AnaheimHate them for: The fact the official team name is "The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim", the Rally Monkey, Vlad Guerrero's pine tard helmetRoot for: Winning for Nick Adenhart, a Red Sox loss.

Colorado RockiesHate them for: Wearing purple, the good chance their fans are also Avalanche and Bronco fansRoot for: Todd Helton to finally win the big one, the fact their best pitcher is named Ubaldo.

St. Louis CardinalsHate them for: the way media slobs over them for having the "best fans", the stupid Budweiser song, Joe BuckRoot for: Albert Pujols, and the fact Jim Leyland is probably rooting for them too

Los Angeles DodgersHate them for: Manny being a cheater, employing Jeff Weaver, the fact that dumb Randy Newman song will be played ad nauseam during their gamesRoot for: Gratuitous screen shots of superfan Alyssa Milano

So there they are pick your side. Me I'm just hoping for some good gamesAs for how the playoffs are going to turn out, here's my thoughts:

Twins vs. YankeesYankees in 4I don't think there's anyway the Twins can win today after last night's brutal 12 innings. The Twins won't go out without a fight, but the Yankee bats are just too much

Angels vs. Red SoxAngels in 5Both teams are pretty equal, but I just think the way the Angels seem to fly around the basepaths at home will be the difference in game 5

Phillies vs. RockiesPhillies in 4As long as the Phillies keep it out of Brad Lidge's hands they should be able to out hit the Rockies

Cardinals vs. DodgersCardinals in 4This may go 5, but the fact the Dodgers may have to beat Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright 2 out of 4 times makes me pick the Cards

ALCSYankees over Angels in 6I think the Yankee starters are a little better than the Angels, and Mariano Rivera is light years ahead of Brian Fuentes

NLCSPhillies over Cardinals in 7Other than Pujols and Holliday there really isn't a dangerous bat in the Cards lineup. While the Cards may have the best 2 pitchers in the NL, Philly's rotation is a bit deeper and that will make the difference in a 7 games series

World SeriesYankees over Phillies in 6It's going to be a bunch of 7-6 games, and it's going to come down to who can get the last three outs. Rivera vs Lidge. My money's on Mariano.